"eSSes" those freaking ESSES

[pikachu69]

I think the fucking singers get too close all the time when I tell them not to, even if they don't notice, that may be the case, I don't know.

The pop shield is good for this. just put it further away from the mic so it becomes a barrier to stop the singer too close. The closer you have the pop shield the closer you allow the singer to get to it. Use two pop sheilds for extra protection and increased distance.

 

[Ermz]

I've not had any 'essing' problems that couldn't be fixed with the right vocal chain or Waves RDeEsser. For me the trick has always been in hammering the DeEsser until the vocal sounds dull, then cranking the highs back in with analogue EQ, running into a chain of analogue comps to suck it all back down. That certainly helps in the search for high-end 'smoothness'.

I know there are people that do all kinds of crazy shit like cutting all the 'esses' up manually, putting them on a different track, EQing them and comping them differently etc. Personally I've never felt the need. The very most I'll do is drop the volume if there's an 'ess' that's particularly uncharacteristic of the vocalist and chain and gets through.

 

[Melb_shredder]

I've not had any 'essing' problems that couldn't be fixed with the right vocal chain or Waves RDeEsser. For me the trick has always been in hammering the DeEsser until the vocal sounds dull, then cranking the highs back in with analogue EQ, running into a chain of analogue comps to suck it all back down. That certainly helps in the search for high-end 'smoothness'.

I know there are people that do all kinds of crazy shit like cutting all the 'esses' up manually, putting them on a different track, EQing them and comping them differently etc. Personally I've never felt the need. The very most I'll do is drop the volume if there's an 'ess' that's particularly uncharacteristic of the vocalist and chain and gets through.

^^This! Granted I don't have analogue gear, but I use approximations as best as possible to do the same thing. Dess the fuck outta it, then boost back the highs, compress to taste! I wish I learned that lesson on the last main album I did... I wasn't as refined at it then

 

[smy1]

I used to have insane Esses in my vocals and had to fix them with vocals rides and a DeEsser.

To finally rectify the situation, all I did was go back from the mic a few inches and the sibilance was reduced by 80%. Huge difference!

 

[Uros]

First of all, I put the the pop filter at like 10cm/4 inches from the mic, which really helps, because the singer can't fuck it up with getting too close this way.

I also don't like using de-essers very much (also, because I try to process audio as little as possible), so I recommend you to cut up all of the 'esses' manually and put'em on a separate track/s, as Ermz mentioned. It's the only real cure. It's painful, but you'll get used to it.

 

[if6was9]

Yeah the pop filter is the perfect tool for getting them further back. Once had a singer stick his head around the pop filter and sing into the mic from right beside it. He was in another room so I couldn't see what was happening but straight away I could hear he was doing something messed up. Crazy guy

 

[Melb_shredder]

Lol... Coffee officially sprayed everywhere!! ^^